The veteran of the Tramway Stakes field, Private Eye will be out to teach his rivals a galloping lesson at Randwick as he bids to notch his fourteenth career-win.
The eight-year-old proved he had lost none of his zest for racing with a strong first-up win in the P B Lawrence Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield and trainer Joe Pride is again confident about his chances on Saturday, despite an awkward draw in barrier 14.
“The barrier doesn’t worry me at all. He’s a horse with really good speed,” Pride said.
“The best version of Private Eye is when he’s jumping well and rolling forward.
“He wasn’t doing it last spring, he was getting back a long way. He was in shorter races, and people said he was in too-short races, but he wasn’t jumping well enough to even muster.
“Now he seems to be jumping well and putting himself in the race and that’s the best version of him.”
Private Eye has been a marvel for connections, banking almost $12.4 million in prizemoney across his 44 starts, highlighted by a Group 1 win in the 2021 Epsom Handicap (1600m) and placings in The Everest (1200m) in 2022 and 2023.
However, Pride’s connection to the horse runs much deeper and regardless of the Tramway Stakes (1400m) result, that won’t change.
“He’s got his way of doing things and he makes me laugh. He’s a character,” Pride said.
“He’s a beautiful horse to work with and I can’t wait to see him get to the races on Saturday.
“He’s like part of the furniture in the stable. Fast furniture though.”
Nash Rawiller has partnered Private Eye in 11 of his 44 starts and again has the ride on Saturday as he bids to win the Tramway Stakes for the third time following back-to-back victories aboard Dreamforce in 2019-20.
